Recent damage caused by a low-grade tornado may have caused concern among some residents, but county officials want to assure residents that the county is prepared to help and have the credentials to prove it.

In June, Butler County was recognized as a StormReady county by the National Weather Service. They are one of 54 Pennsylvania counties to do so.

Steve Bicehouse, director of Butler County’s Department of Emergency Services Personnel, said the recognition proves the county’s commitment to consistently improving preparations.

“It’s the first time Butler County has been designated a StormReady county,” he said. “It means that we met the National Weather Service’s criteria.”

According to the NWS website, the StormReady program is meant to encourage and help emergency managers prepare for disasters.

“No community is stormproof but every community can be StormReady,” the site said.

John Darnley, a Pittsburgh NWS meteorologist, said the program recognizes counties based on a set criteria that must be met to give the title to the region. Darnley said most of these requirements are based on a good working relationship between the weather service and the local emergency managers.

“One of the biggest things is communications,” he said. “We want you to be familiar with the NWS radio.”

Darnley said the goal is to give the managers in-depth training on their warning system and messages, so they can relay messages locally and implement emergency plans efficiently without putting emergency personnel in peril.

“You have a network of folks who are trained and ready for action,” Darnley said.

Much of the criteria dealt with having the proper equipment in place, such as information reception equipment, local weather and water monitoring equipment. The criteria also requires participants to have proper ways to disseminate information through local cable TV overrides, local alert broadcasts and outdoor warning sirens.

Bicehouse said Butler County already had the equipment, so getting the certification was a simple decision.

“It was low-hanging fruit,” he said. “We were already doing the work anyways, so why not be recognized for it.”

Bicehouse said not much needed to be tweaked to meet the program’s criteria because the county already met most of the communications standards already. He said all that was really needed was some time in the classroom.

“There wasn’t anything significant,” he said. “It was really more along the lines of training.”

Bicehouse said Amy Marree, the county’s emergency management planner, stepped up as a leader to get the county certified.

Marree said she, Bicehouse and Hazmat specialist Scott Hoffman participated in the service’s training.

She said the three had close to 60 hours of classroom training.

In addition to the staff, she also helped sign county residents into Storm Spotter courses, which train people to report certain weather incidents, such as tornado sightings, flooding and other severe conditions, Marree said.

“We do have multiple people that are Storm Spotters,” she said. “That is something anyone can do.”

Marree said there are more than 75 spotters in the county, and she said the service has another class from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Butler County Emergency Services office. Residents may contact her for more information about signing up.

Marree said having Storm Spotters isn’t required for the StormReady program, but the two programs complement one another.

“It’s a community effort,” she said. “Ultimately, we need the community’s involvement.”

Bicehouse said he plans to continue recertification as long as possible.

“As long as they have the program and as long as I’m here, we’ll stay in the program,” he said.

He said he encourages residents to find comfort through the designation, but just because the county is certified doesn’t mean the officials can do much more than assist people. He said people still need to take their own action.

“While the county is StormReady, individuals need to be StormReady,” he said. “People need to pay attention to those warnings, and they need to have a plan.”